RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:
And our last word in business: spies, dictators and bankers.
It's rare for the British government to strip knights of their knighthood. Only a few have experienced this particular dishonor. They include the spy, Anthony Blunt, and Zimbabwe's strong man, President Robert Mugabe. Now Sir Fred Goodwin, former CEO of the Royal Bank of Scotland joins them.
Goodwin turned RBS into a global banking giant and he was knighted in 2004 for his quote, "services to banking." He went on to preside over the bank's ruin. It lost more money than any bank in British history, which led to a massive government bailout and then Goodwin left the bank with a multi-million dollar pension.
None of it terribly chivalrous, and so yesterday the British government stripped Fred Goodwin of his knighthood.
And that's the business news on MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Renee Montagne.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
And I'm Steve Inskeep.
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